Virtual, and Reality

Marquette University implements new information center technology

By Larry R. Rickard

May 21, 2008

Marquette University
may not have Robocop,
but school public safety
officials are convinced
they’ve got the next best thing—a
virtual surveillance system that could
make a dent in campus crime. What campus
today isn’t thinking about and implementing
key security plans?

Established in 1881, Marquette
University is a private Catholic Jesuit
institution located in the heart of
Milwaukee. The university has more than
11,000 students and more than 2,000 faculty
and staff.

In its effort to continually improve
crime prevention and emergency preparedness,
Marquette’s Department of
Public Safety recently completed the initial
phase of installation of a new
Command Information Center. The CIC
integrates new and existing cameras with
alarm systems on the Marquette campus
and near off-campus neighborhood to
monitor suspicious activity.

“Marquette places a high priority, in
terms of human resources, technology
and equipment, on the safety and security
of our students and staff,” said the Rev.
Robert A. Wild, S.J., university president.
“On surveys of student life, Marquette
students report they feel safe on campus.
They often cite the visible presence of our
public safety officers, student patrols and
LIMO vans, as well as the presence of
Milwaukee Police Department patrol
cars, mounted police and bicycle units.”

Advanced Patrolling
Clearly, safety and security of the university students is paramount.
“The CIC is essentially a force-multiplier
for the department. It puts more eyes
on the street, from a virtual patrolling
sense,” said university Public Safety
Chief Larry Rickard. “It gives us another
strong, reliable tool to monitor and patrol
our campus areas.”

Marquette’s CIC is key to its crimefighting
efforts in two ways. First, the
technology is helpful in spotting suspicious
activity, enabling officers to
respond to and prevent criminal activity.
In some cases, the technology helps
apprehend suspects before or as a crime
occurs. Secondly, public safety officers
can use this surveillance to identify and
apprehend suspects after an offense and
subsequently aid in the prosecution of
criminal cases.

Marquette’s CIC incorporates
Software House’s C-Cure 800 System
access controls and alarms with
American Dynamic’s Intellex DVR units
under an Aegis Software integration. This
configuration allows a single operator at
a station to have complete command and
control of all C-Cure and Intellex functions
and views, including the ability to
automatically lock down individual
buildings or conduct a mass lockdown of
all academic buildings within seconds.

The CIC concept has two public safety
dispatchers/monitors working together.
One CIC dispatcher/monitor is located
adjacent to the main dispatch center in
the video wall monitoring room. The second
works in the main dispatch area
answering phones, dispatching calls and
conducting other communication-related
functions. Both dispatchers/monitors
have access control and virtual patrolling
capabilities and can configure devices;
select video segments by time, date and
alarm; and use the smart search function
or view multiple live video segments of
an area 24/7.

The video display technology uses six
50-inch Christie digital video wall screens
joined with large, rear projection-style
monitors to call up and display any type of
custom view that the operator selects from
the matrix switch or Aegis system. The
video wall screens are attractive and functional.
They are stackable, scalable monitors
capable of multiple views and can
combine into one large integrated view of
all units as the operator dictates.

Marquette’s CIC software alerts DPS
officers under certain circumstances,
such as panic alarms, when the system
can immediately bring up the specific
camera view associated with the area
where the alarm was activated. Then the
system displays a second view that automatically
plays the 30 seconds preceding
the alarm activation. This allows the CIC
operator to more efficiently dispatch
responding officers.

The CIC screens show feeds from both
off- and on-campus wireless mesh cameras,
which are positioned in all residence halls, the library, the student union, university
parking lots/structures and other areas.
The system represents the latest in crime
prevention and response technology.

Technology Tackles Crime
Research has demonstrated the success of
virtual patrol models in law enforcement
agencies nationwide with a direct impact
on the reduction of crime in certain parks
and other high-crime areas. Major successes
in the wider use of CCTVs and the
CIC model have been seen at police
departments in cities such as Los Angeles
and Chicago.

Marquette University is pursuing city
approval to use pole-mounted signage,
which will be posted in neighborhoods
where CCTVs are in place to remind and
assure students, faculty, staff and the
community that these areas may be under
Marquette’s public safety surveillance.

“We have more than 200 Blue Light
phones on and off campus, and we have a
professional, significant and effective
officer presence on the street, with bike,
foot and vehicle patrols,” Rickard said.
“However, our newly constructed CIC
center and associated system integration
of alarms and cameras will create an even
stronger deterrent.”

Marquette officials feel the goal of
adding advanced technology and increasing
the number of cameras on and around
campus isn’t just to apprehend criminals,
but to deter crime from occurring.

“Camera surveillance and posted signage
around campus indicating that we
may be watching should certainly modify
some criminal behavior. Criminals are
risk-averse, and if the bad guys know
they are being monitored for illegal activity,
there is a real good chance they will
go elsewhere,” Rickard said.

Noticeable Results
Rickard said his department recognizes
there are no guarantees that crime will
drop, even with these technological
advances. However, his officers have
seen firsthand evidence that an enhanced
digital surveillance strategy can be
extremely beneficial.

“We have experienced false reports
being filed with our department that rose
to the level of seriousness where a campus-
wide alert needed to be issued quickly,”
Rickard said. “In one case, after immediately
reviewing the digital footage of an
alleged incident of an armed robbery on
campus, we quickly discovered that the
alleged victim had falsely reported it.

“Further investigation of the digital
footage of the supposed crime scene
found that the alleged victim was not a
victim of a violent crime at all, but rather
a distraught person needing psychological
help. This technology saved a great
deal of campus-wide anxiety.”

Besides saving valuable hours in security
officer patrol time, Marquette’s
sophisticated and highly effective video
surveillance system could become a
best-practices model for other campuses
to follow.